Beef Top Round Roast

Sharing is caring!

Beef Top Round Roast in the oven makes the most tender slices of perfectly cooked and seasoned, juicy beef roast that is budget-friendly and delicious.

Keep reading to learn how you can turn top round roast into an easy and delicious meal for your family.

Beef Top Round Roast Recipe

This tender top round roast in the oven is what I call a hands-off roast, because once it’s seasoned and seared, the oven does all the work.

Even better, this easy roast recipe requires very little prep.

When you want a delicious slice of medium-rare roast beef for a family dinner or an impressive main course, the top round roast can be your go-to.

Top round gives you lots of bang for the buck. There’s no bone in a top round roast so you can slice and eat the entire hunk of beef!

Ingredients

• Beef top round roast: Searing the roast first adds flavor before popping the beef into the oven to cook until just medium rare. Top round is lean but flavorful if cooked properly!
• Avocado oil: I’ve really come to appreciate avocado oil for searing meat at high temperatures. It has a high flash point so it doesn’t burn like olive oil can. You can use vegetable or canola oil as a substitute.
• Seasonings: Onion flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, instant coffee (optional, but delicious), smoked paprika, oregano flakes, black pepper

How to make beef top round roast

In a small bowl, combine all the seasonings, including the salt and pepper.

Remove the roast from refrigeration and unpackage, placing it onto a clean work surface.

Using your fingers, rub the prepared seasoning blend all over the entire roast.

Press it into the surface to help it adhere.

Let the roast rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 1-2 hours.

Or, if time allows, place the seasoned roast into the fridge to allow the rub to marinate the meat for up to 24 hours.

This allows the meat to cook much more evenly because the protein fibers have relaxed.

During this time, the juices have moved from the center of the meat to the edges.

As with all meat, letting a top round roast rest before cooking it is truly essential.

Yes, this takes time, but it makes ALL the difference in the eating experience! Never cook ice cold meat, no matter the cut.

Giving a roast this resting period is so key to a good eating experience!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

In a deep skillet or a Dutch oven over medium high heat, add the oil to the pan.

When the oil is nicely hot, gently place the seasoned and rested roast into the hot oil, browning it on all sides.

Place the roast into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

This allows the meat to roast, uncovered, at this high temperature to become deep golden brown in color.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Continue to cook the roast, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes or about 15 minutes per pound for a rested roast.

If you did not rest your roast before cooking and it is chilled, cook it for 20-25 minutes per pound.

Cook until it reaches the internal temperature of 125-130 degrees F. when tested with an instant-read meat thermometer at the center.

Whatever you do, don’t overcook the top round roast.

Rare is at 125 degrees F. or medium rare at 135 degrees F. is absolutely best.

Remove the roast from the pan.

Place it on a large cutting board with a channel around the perimeter for collecting meat juices.

Cover the roast tightly with foil, allowing it to rest for at least 20 minutes.

During this time, the roast will continue to cook from residual heat and finish raising in temperature to 140-145 degrees for a nice medium-rare top round roast.

Since top round roast is so very lean, cooking it with a meat thermometer is crucial to avoid guessing its doneness.

I still prefer to use an analog instant-read meat thermometer since it doesn’t require a battery.

Have two of them on hand them so when you doubt a temperature check.

You can insert the second one to see if you get the same temperature reading.

Insert the instant-read meat thermometer into the very center of the thickest part of the roast.

Be sure to slice it very thinly, always across the grain of the meat.

Serve at once.

What is a beef top round roast?

Beef top round, an inexpensive cut, can produce delicious roast beef slices for any meal when cooked properly.

Like all three of the round roast cuts (top round roast, bottom round roast, and eye of round roast) beef top round is most commonly used for thinly sliced deli roast beef.

What is top round roast good for?

We love to cook top round roast and slice it very thinly to have beef for roast beef sandwiches.

We also like beef pinwheels for parties.

Thinly sliced roast beef is also great for adding protein to salads and pasta!

How do you tenderize a top round roast?

One of the very best ways to get tender slices of top round roast is to let the roast rest at least an hour at room temperature before cooking and 20-30 minutes (covered) after cooking it.

This gives the protein fibers time to relax and also allows the juices to redistribute themselves throughout the beef.

To enjoy tender slices of top round roast, it must be sliced AGAINST the grain into thin slices.

Slicing across the grain shortens the protein fibers of the meat, making it a tender and delicious eating experience.

Top round roast vs. pot roast

Technically, any roast cooked until fork-tender in a pot of braising liquid can be a pot roast.

However, most people seem to think that chuck roast is the cut used for making pot roast.

This is because it has a lot of fat and connective tissue that renders down as it cooks low and slow, keeping the meat moist and tender.

Beef top round roast cooking time

Cooking time for all meat will vary. That’s why it’s essential to cook by internal temperature, and not strictly by just time.

If your roast has rested before you cook it so some of the chill is removed from the meat, it will cook much more quickly than a roast cooked straight from the fridge.

A rested roast will cook at about 15 minutes per pound, and a chilled roast will take closer to 25 minutes per pound, as a general rule of thumb.

Can I use top round roast for shredded beef?

Roasts with a higher fat content and more connective tissue, such as chuck roast or arm roast, work better for shredded beef.

To prevent dryness, lean top round roast should be thinly sliced across the grain.

Can you make beef stew with top round roast?

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!

In my opinion, the top round roast is to lean a cut to try to make it tender for stew meat.

For stew meat, opt for something with more fat and connective tissue, such as chuck roast.

Is top round roast tender?

Yes, as long as it’s not over-cooked.

Because top round roast is so very lean, it should only be cooked rare or medium rare doneness.

And, top round roast must be sliced very thinly, across the grain.

What temperature is beef done?

Meat doesn’t stop cooking just because you remove it from the oven.

We have to factor in that it will continue to raise in internal temperature from residual heat.

If you want the beef more rare,, I recommend pulling it out of the oven at 125 degrees F. internal temperature.

Residual heat will raise the roast to a finished internal temperature of 135 degrees, which is considered medium rare.

If you want a roast that’s cooked to medium doneness (145 degrees F. at the center), remove the roast from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F.

Keep in mind that you can always cook meat MORE, but once it’s overcooked, there’s no going back.

If you have someone in your group who wants the meat more well done than medium rare, offer them the outside slices of the roast since these are typically more done than the very center slices.

How to store

Store the fully cooled and cooked slices of roast beef in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

What to serve with roasts

My family really loves mac and cheese or cheesy orzo made in a skillet served with roast, and also creamy mashed potatoes.

Air fryer brussel sprouts with bacon and air fryer broccoli with parmesan are quick and easy vegetable side dishes for roast, too.

More favorite Roast recipes

My guys are carnivores and I try to keep their bellies full with their favorites, like bottom round roast that simmers low and slow and rump roast that slices up tender and juicy, much like this top round roast does.

Garlic Butter Eye of Round Roast is a flavor-packed beef roast recipe with a simple herbed butter crust perfect for casual weekend gatherings or a holiday meal.

Rump roast in the Instant Pot is delicious for a weeknight meal when served with potatoes and gravy.

I like to use my Instant Pot to batch-cook meat on the weekend. Eye of round in the Instant Pot means I can have lots of deli-style roast beef for sandwiches all week.